Le Pétomane: The Greatest Fart Artist of All Time
Paris, 1892. The Moulin Rouge is sold out. On stage stands no singer, no juggler, no variety dancer — but a man in a tailcoat and top hat, who is about to make music with his backside. Joseph Pujol, better known as Le Pétomane, was the most spectacular and absurd talent of the Belle Époque — and earned more from it than Sarah Bernhardt, the greatest star of his time.
Who Was Joseph Pujol?
Joseph Pujol was born on June 1, 1857, in Marseille. As a child, while swimming in the sea, he discovered an extraordinary ability: through muscular control of his pelvic floor and abdominal muscles, he could draw water and air in and out through the anus — completely voluntarily and without gastrointestinal gas production. This meant: Pujol wasn't really farting in the biological sense — he inhaled air and expelled it in a controlled manner. As a young adult, he recognized the entertainment potential of this ability and perfected it for years. In 1892 he first performed at the Moulin Rouge and became famous overnight. His stage name 'Le Pétomane' — roughly 'the fart maniac' — was his trademark.
The Show: What Le Pétomane Did on Stage
Pujol's performances had a fixed repertoire that he refined over the years. He imitated animal sounds (dog, cat, cuckoo, bee), played recognizable melodies (La Marseillaise was an audience favorite), played a flute he connected via a thin rubber tube to his cloaca, and blew out a candle from a distance of thirty centimeters. His greatest gag: he extinguished an oil lamp in the audience via tube — and relit it through renewed gas pressure. The audience regularly reacted with fainting spells — not from disgust, but from uncontrollable laughter. Nurses with smelling salts stood ready in the front rows. Pujol himself always performed in elegant tailcoat and presented his art with the dignity of a classical concert pianist.
Medical Examination and Fame
Pujol's talent was so extraordinary that physicians from the Académie de Médecine in Paris examined him. Their finding: his sphincter muscle was anatomically extraordinarily developed and elastic — a combination of genetic predisposition and years of training. They certified it was no fraud, and the medical report raised Pujol's prestige even further. Moulin Rouge owner Oller booked him exclusively and paid him a fee that significantly exceeded Sarah Bernhardt's. On Sundays — when he had no shows — the Moulin Rouge was closed and significantly less profitable than on Pujol evenings. He was simply the establishment's main draw.
Later Life and Legacy
After a dispute over an unauthorized imitator ('La Femme Pétomane'), Pujol left the Moulin Rouge in 1895 and toured France on his own account. During the First World War he closed his own theater and worked in a biscuit factory. He died in 1945 at the age of 88 in Toulon. His grave bears the simple inscription 'Joseph Pujol'. After his death, the family long refused any medical examination of his mortal remains — a final act of dignity for an extraordinary life. Pujol is today the subject of books, a biographical film, and is considered the most curious entertainer career in cultural history.
Did you know?
- Le Pétomane earned more at the Moulin Rouge than Sarah Bernhardt — the greatest female star of his time.
- Nurses stood by at his performances with smelling salts — for visitors who fainted from laughing.
- He didn't fart in the biological sense: he voluntarily inhaled air and expelled it in a controlled manner.
- The Académie de Médecine in Paris confirmed his talent after a formal medical examination.
Fun Fact
When Le Pétomane gave his first performance at the Moulin Rouge in 1892, the reaction was reportedly so overwhelming that the evening immediately entered Parisian society chronicles as a triumph. The newspaper Le Figaro wrote: 'This evening has proven that the human backside is a musical instrument.' Pujol framed the newspaper article and hung it in his dressing room.
Sources
- Nohain, J. & Caradec, F. (1967). Le Pétomane. Sherbourne Press.
- Clemens, S. (1995). The Extraordinary Mr. Pujol. Plume Books.
- Moulin Rouge Archives, Paris (various documents, 1892–1895).